David and Jason, Another Tragic Story of Gay Binational DOMA Heartbreak: VIDEO

Missing Husband, a heartbreaking new video from The DOMA Project tells the story of David and Jason, a married binational couple separated by 6,000 miles because of the Defense of Marriage Act and an unjust immigration system.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

And read more about them here.

David writes:

DOMA means that legal gay marriages are not recognized federally and are not enough to bring foreign spouses of gay Americans to the US. Jason isn’t welcome to the US as a Husband and has only ever been able to visit for a maximum 90 days as a tourist.

Jason has been warned for 2 years that he has visited the US too often using tourist visa waivers. It’s currently recommended that he wait 6 months before returning, or he may be denied entry as a visitor.

What most people don’t realize is that when Jason has landed, whether or not he is allowed out of LAX airport is at the discretion of the Customs and Border Protection officer. The past 2 years he has been taken aside to a small interview room, interrogated and had his luggage searched by officers suspecting he is lying about his reasons for visiting. They scoff at any explanation of the years of difficulties he’s had obtaining a visa, replying “it’s not that hard”.

Schumer, Senate Democrats Under Pressure on Gay-Inclusive Immigration Reform

(chris johnson - twitter)

Senate Democrats are increasingly nervous about the prospects of gay-inclusive amendments filed last week by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) killing the comprehensive immigration reform bill, Politico reports:

After strategically keeping the White House at a distance, some key Democrats are privately advocating for the president himself to ask Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chief proponent of the measure, to hold off on offering the amendment until the floor debate, where it’s unlikely to pass.

“He is working behind the scenes,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a Gang of Eight member, told POLITICO when asked whether Democrats wanted Obama to get involved, although declined to get into details. “Obviously it is Sen. Leahy’s call.”

Leahy said he spoke with Obama on Wednesday, but the issue didn’t come up. Even if it did, Leahy said, a presidential intervention wouldn’t necessarily sway him.

“I am the most senior member of the Senate, I’m an experienced chairman. He’s happy I’m handling immigration,” Leahy said. “He hasn’t suggested whether I should or shouldn’t do it because he knows I’ll make up my own mind.”

It's also still unclear whether Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would vote for the amendments, they add:

After the Gang of Eight didn’t include the protections in the underlying bill, Schumer assured advocates that the issue would get a vote in the Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee, the most favorable venue for passing the amendment because the threshold is a simple majority, rather than the filibuster-proof majority on the Senate floor.

But now [LGBT advocates] are worried that might not even happen.

Earlier, today, Schumer received, via hand delivery from the advocacy group GetEQUAL in coordination with the pro-immigrant organizations Presente.org, DRM Action and Uniting We Dream, 6,500 petitions urging him to include gay binational couples as part of the legislation.

Reports Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, co-director of GetEQUAL, personally handed the names to Schumer’s staff on Thursday as part of a group of about a half-dozen activists.

“It’s interesting because he’s making a political mistake,” Sousa-Rodriguez told the Blade. “The whole reason why this is even happening is because of Latinos, and Latinos hold the key to the White House. But 64 percent of voters support the inclusion of same-sex couples in immigration reform and 59 percent of Latino voters support same-sex marriage. Latinos have turned a page, the country has turned a page, but D.C. keeps being stuck in the ’90s.”

A Brazilian native who’s married to a U.S. citizen, Sousa-Rodriguez is an undocumented immigrant who came to the United States at a young age and would be able to gain citizenship through a marriage-based green card application if the immigration reform included the provision for bi-national couples.

More at the Blade...

Former Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) to Marry Partner in D.C. This Weekend

Former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) will marry his partner of eight years, Hector Alfonso, in D.C. on Saturday, the Daily Star reports:

"We're very happy," he said. "We're very committed."

The two have talked about marrying for a long time, Kolbe said. After sorting out Alfonso's immigration status, Kolbe said the two are ready to marry.

They plan a simple ceremony at the Cosmos Club, officiated by a minister, with readings and prayers...

Kolbe said it's "unfortunate" that Arizona doesn't yet recognize same-sex marriage, saying everyone should be able to find the happiness he's found and be able to marry the person of his or her choice.

Kolbe recently urged the Senate Judiciary Comittee to adopt gay-inclusive immigration reform, telling them of his plans to marry this weekend.

Said Kolbe:

We are immensely fortunate that Hector has now secured an investment visa that allows him to remain here with me. Many other couples, however, are not as fortunate. Even if they, like us, have a marriage, civil union or life-long commitment to each other, their ability to secure a permanent solution that would allow them to build a home, family or business together is elusive and difficult to realize. It shouldn’t be that way, and this Committee has an opportunity to fix this problem.

Eric and Juan, a Gay Binational Married Couple Fighting for Immigration Reform, End of DOMA: VIDEO

Eric and Juan are a gay binational couple featured in The Bravery Tapes, a project that profiles stories of human courage.

Their story is also featured in the L.A. Times today:

In his video Op-Ed “Eric and Juan,” Jens Erik Gould introduces us to a same-sex couple who got married in 2008, during the brief time when gay marriage was legal in California. Though Eric and Juan have built a life together here, DOMA prevents Juan from applying for a green card through marriage. It is among the many federal benefits the two are denied.

“Juan has had so much adversity in his life,” Gould says. “Someone tried to kill him in Mexico because he was gay. Now, not only does he still experience discrimination for being gay in the U.S., he's also living undocumented here. Many people in this situation hide in the shadows. But despite all the adversity and risk, he's publicly fighting for what he believes in because he wants to be an example for his community.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Won't Commit to Voting for Gay-Inclusive Immigration Amendments: VIDEO

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) won't commit to voting for gay amendments filed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) if offered up for the immigration reform bill, the NYT reports:

“I would like very much to see it in the bill, but we have to have a bill that has support to get UAFA passed. That’s the conundrum. Because if there’s no bill, there’s no UAFA, either.”

He added: "Look, this one is something I worry about all the time. I’m a good sleeper, but I wake up in the morning thinking of these things, sometimes early in the morning.”

The paper adds:

Mr. Leahy’s amendments, if offered, promise to create a politically sticky situation for Democrats in the bipartisan group like Mr. Schumer, who personally support the measures but are hesitant to vote for anything they believe could hurt the broader bill. Though Mr. Schumer is already facing pressure from gay rights groups, he declined to say how he might vote.

“I’m not going to get into speculatives,” he said.

Watch an interview Politico did with Leahy about the amendments, AFTER THE JUMP...

Faces of Gay Binational Couples Harmed by DOMA, Unfair Immigration Laws: VIDEO

Lavi Soloway of the DOMA project put this clip together to show the "Gang of Eight" and those opposed to including gays in immigration reform just a few of the couples getting harmed by leaving it out.

If you missed my post from last night, Senator Patrick Leahy has offered up two amendments to the "Gang of Eight" immigration bill that would include gay families. Check them out here.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...